Kioxia aims to mass produce 1000-layer 3D NAND by 2031 — quadruple the current number of layers

Kioxia
(Image credit: Kioxia)

Kioxia plans to mass produce 3D NAND memory with over 1,000 layers by 2031, according to the company's chief technology officer (CTO), Hidefumi Miyajima, reports Xtech Nikkei. During his lecture at the 71st Applied Physics Society Spring Meeting at Tokyo City University, Miyajima discussed the technical challenges and solutions for achieving over 1000 layers in a 3D NAND device.

Increasing the number of active layers in a 3D NAND device is the best way to boost the recording density of flash memory nowadays, so all 3D NAND makers strive to do this with new process nodes every 1.5 to 2 years. Each new node brings several challenges, as 3D NAND makers have to increase the number of layers and shrink NAND cells both laterally and vertically. This process requires manufacturers to adopt new materials with every new node, which is a major research and development challenge.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.